Simple Bet
by Klappy
Summary: Kuroro has to convince the smartest, not to mention the cutest girl in the campus to go out with him. But he had one small problem. It was just supposed to be a bet, but what happens if he really falls for her in the process? Ch. 5 UPDATED
1. Introduction to Insults

**A/N:** Hello everyone…or would it be better if I were to say, "I'm back"? Haha… Anyway, it has been a very long time...very long, indeed. Quite a hiatus I've had from the Hunter X Hunter section, and I do know I have such an enormous debt to pay. Well, that's why I'm back, isn't it? :) To all of the avid Simple Bet readers (particularly those that had already been at their wits end for waiting for so long and are _still_ patiently waiting up to now), thank you so much! I owe you guys so much because obviously, if you haven't been so persistent on encouraging me to finish it, this update would never be possible. And yes…my apologies to you all, as well. Don't ask about details. Just don't. :)

**WARNINGS:** This was, and still is, my very first Kurapika X Kuroro fanfic. Now, the very important warning here is that **KURAPIKA IS A GIRL**, so those readers that are in disagreeing terms with this matter, kindly click the back button now to spare your selves from further infuriation. This _is_ a warning, you know. I, myself, am a fangirl of Kurapika, so I know how you feel (ironic much?). I'm open to criticism and/or flames, but please do not argue with me regarding this matter since I _did_ warn you.

Second: OOC. I just cannot live without it. :) This is a **REVISED** version, after all, so probably the…er...level of OOCness wouldn't be that…um…embarrassing anymore. Or so I think it is. You're the reader, so decide for yourself, all right? I've added some minor scenes that should have been there in the first place, corrected some major grammatical errors, and in general, "smoothened" the flow of the story. I know it's a pain to reread nine whole chapters from the beginning, but I hope you'll bear with me. Things are still _generally_ the same for those who have read this fanfiction already; those of you that are reading it only for the first time… well… no problem about that, right? Just make sure that you **read these warnings** and that the time and space I spent on these rants did not amount to nothing. :) Other than that, just take your time and enjoy (if you _will_ enjoy it, that is).

This story belongs to the AU or Alternate Universe category. Same characters, but an entirely different setting.

**Disclaimer: **_Hunter X Hunter _and its characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. But this story and its plot are rightfully mine.

**SIMPLE BET**

_It was a simple and frighteningly easy task._

_But just when things were turning out the way he wanted them to be, he literally gets 'stuck' in their so called bet._

_What will Kuroro do when he realizes that his actions are merely not for the sake of winning a bet anymore…_

…_but is already for the fulfillment of the desires of his own heart?_

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**Chapter One: Introduction to Insults**

_We're terribly sorry, Kurapika—_

_But we have no other options regarding this matter. I'm afraid that we will have to leave you again on your own for a couple of months—_

_You know how important these engagements are, dear…we hope you will understand—_

_Kurapika?_

…_I understand._

"Why do I have the feeling that seeing you here does not come as a surprise anymore?" A very familiar voice came up from behind the studious blonde, therefore interrupting her recent reminiscing. "It's no wonder now that you are the outstanding prefect of the junior class… With all the time you spend on burying your nose inside these books, I wouldn't be surprised if surgeons literally found numerals and speeches, rather than the physical brain, when they crack your skull open." The voice continued: the ridicule in it as obvious as that of a single dot on a plain, white sheet of paper. And in this case, we have here a big, black dot.

Already "immune" from such insults, Kurapika merely continued her research and paid no attention to the senior beside her. To her annoyance though, mentioned senior deliberately closed the book that she had been using, hindering her research's progress. "I'm talking to you, Kurapika Kuruta. Don't be rude; the least that you can do is to face me." At these words, Kurapika was surprised to feel the corners of her mouth move and form slowly into a smirk. Perhaps, it did not bother her if she annoyed the senior as well; revenge even at its minimal still felt satisfying.

But the smirk was gone as fast as it had appeared when she turned to face the lad beside her.

A perfect set of ebony hair and eyes, coupled with his ivory complexion, Kuroro Ruciful was simply the most handsome male that Kurapika had ever met. Despite this fact though, to openly admit such perception would be the most humiliating act she would ever do. More often than not, people would regard her as absurd for despising the senior. She would not have despised him at all, if only he had not chosen her as the very subject of his rudeness.

"Kuroro-_senpai_…" said Kurapika, her temper barely contained. "If you have nothing better to do, I suggest you leave me be. If you can't seem to notice, I'm very busy. So _get_."

Kuroro only stared at Kurapika, the realization that the blonde was "once again" starting to get annoyed of him having dawned upon him already. And guess what, he's actually having fun about it. "But I do have an important reason as to why I'm here, Kurapika, and I do believe that I do not have to remind you of it." Kuroro said, his eyes flashing with amusement. "You're a growing girl, and books are not the only things that can help you. You should go out once in a while and—"

Kurapika suddenly stood up from her seat, slamming her fists onto the table. "Kuroro…how many times do I have to tell you — _do not tell me what to do_! Don't you ever get tired of _bugging_ me? Now don't you start laughing at me!" She hissed at Kuroro who was already sniggering uncontrollably. Kurapika glowered at him; she could never seem to understand exactly why and how she became the target of Kuroro's insults. It was only her first year here in this town and at their school, but _hell_…why was she the one to be annoyed by this oppressive senior. She could not even remember having done anything wrong against Kuroro for him to constantly pester her. Almost every day, he gave the same speech: for her to stop her persistence with her studies and just "go out". Unfortunately for Kuroro, Kurapika solely hated anyone who bossed her around with no acceptable reason, especially those who are not even connected to her in any way. Thus, this was the very reason why she had come to hate Kuroro so much.

'_Why are these things happening to me?'_ Kurapika thought, sighing in a way that you would think that she had a huge problem. Well, she actually did…

Much to the blonde's frustration, Kuroro just stared at her with that annoying smirk. There was no need to guess the reason behind the blonde's spontaneous sigh for all that he needed to do was look at a mirror to find the answer. '_Come to think of it, I really did not seem to stop bothering her recently…'_ And to no particular reason, Kuroro burst out laughing, his voice echoing loudly inside the supposedly quiet Library.

Kurapika almost screamed in frustration as she glowered at Kuroro. A second later, she was checking out the necessary books at the counter and was literally stomping her way towards the exit. To her amusement though, she caught a glimpse of the head librarian marching towards Kuroro, her nostrils flaring in utmost rage. _'Serves him right.'_ She just made it out onto the front steps before all hell broke loose.

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"Oi, Kurapika! Over here!"

A very familiar voice called out to her as she made her way down the stone steps. She found her friends sitting under the shade of a tree at the park in front of the Library. "You three…I thought you all went home already."

"We did! But then I remembered that we made a promise to walk you home every time you had something to do after school, so here we are!" Gon grinned widely at her, his chocolate ice cream melting in the afternoon heat.

"Right. Even though I hate to admit it, it's kind of dangerous for you to be walking home alone," said Killua having just finished his own ice cream and already eyeing Gon's hungrily. His pearl white complexion and hair color was of great contrast to Gon's tanned skin and spiky black hair, but their similarly over enthusiastic (and, not to mention, stubborn) attitudes made them the very best of friends. Their friendship was, as a matter of fact, the strongest that Kurapika has ever known. "Wouldn't want the same thing that happened to that pizza girl also happening to you, would we?"

"And since you always pass by that construction site on your way home, _and_ because you're easily one of the prettiest girls here, you're most likely to become a target for those jerks." Leorio grunted as he stared at Kurapika behind his round, shaded spectacles.

The horrible news of a delivery girl that was brutally raped and murdered at an abandoned construction site was still the topic of most conversations during the past week. Their neighborhood's crime rate was not really on the positive side, but a murder certainly dealt a disastrous blow to it. These days, you could rarely see anyone walking alone on the streets, especially during the evenings.

Kurapika, however, knew that she need not worry about anything at all, so long as she had her friends. Her friendship with them was built so instantaneously, but it steadily grew stronger during the few months she had spent with them, even though they were guys. And speaking of guys, one had certainly been annoying her only recently…

"_Ne_, Kurapika…you haven't finished your library work yet?" said Gon, pointing at the books that the blonde was carrying.

"Oh…well, these are Kuroro's fault. I had to check these books out so I could get away from him."

"Him again?!" Killua grimaced, now trying to grab hold of Gon's ice cream despite the other's protests. "Doesn't he ever get tired of bothering you?"

"No," said Kurapika, sarcastically. "I really don't understand why he _loves_ to annoy me. And he even knows exactly how!"

"Well…it's easy to provoke you when it's about your being studious. And almost everyone knows you hate being bossed around." Leorio thought out loudly.

"Thanks for reminding me, Leorio." Kurapika glared at him. "But even so, I'm the only one he's been insulting, and—"

"I think Kuroro likes you, Kurapika."

It seemed as if time had stopped at Gon's remark before the other three bellowed at him. "WHAT?!"

"Never, Gon! Never! I hate that Kuroro and that will never happen! You hear me, Gon? NEVER!" Kurapika was trembling from embarrassment and fury. Of all the possible reasons, why _that_?

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Gon whimpered under Kurapika's rage. "I won't say anything about that again! I'm sorry, Kurapika!"

Kurapika sighed and steadied herself. Fortunately, her voice was back to normal when she spoke again. "It's all right, Gon. I was just…shocked. That was truly an…unexpected…reason." She grinned, even though a vein was visibly throbbing on her temple.

"Well…it's just that…" Gon stuttered. "Aunt Mito once told me that if you liked someone, you do your best to get that person's attention…"

Killua narrowed his eyes at him. "Oi, Gon…you really don't know what you're saying, don't you? That saying's way too old."

"Even so! It's still true, isn't it? Kurapika's really pretty, so why won't Kuroro like her?"

"_Maa ne…_" Kurapika chuckled nervously. "Gon, I thought you won't say anything about that again?" As always, Gon's bluntness about his thoughts was overwhelming, even to a point that it was sometimes annoying.

A sweat drop appeared on the side of Gon's head. "Ehehehe… right; I did say that. Anyway!" He stood up suddenly. "It's getting dark and we still have to walk Kurapika home! _Ikuso_!" And he started to walk away while nervously laughing.

The other three laughed and followed him out of the park. Passing by the Library's front steps, Kurapika caught sight of Kuroro standing outside the doors, staring down at her with those unfathomable eyes. Kuroro liking her was entirely possible, she thought. Feeling very tired and annoyed, Kurapika decided to ignore him and to head straight home.

…**To be continued…**

**A/N:** Finally! I thought I'd never be able to finish revising this chapter. And this is only Chapter One! (faints) Anyway…I know it is very different from before. Apparently, my writing style… well… uh… am I safe in saying that it "improved"? But that's all thanks to you, readers. Anyway, because of that you might have assumed that the story changed as well. **IT DID NOT.** If you have not noticed, the sequences of this chapter are still the same; I have only added and replaced some minor parts. But I do hope this proved more satisfying than the previous one. That's what revisions are for, right? (sweat drops)

I really hope you liked it. This is a start, anyway. If you did, then you'd like the rest; if not, then you won't. It's that simple.

Reviews, please? Or maybe you'd rather read the whole revision first? :) _Ja ne_.


	2. Where it all began

**Chapter Two: Where it all began**

A pair of aquamarine eyes slowly opened, which indicated that its keeper was already awake. Its gaze made way to the clock placed atop the small bedside table, and grew seemingly wide with shock at the green, blinking numerals on the clock's screen: 7:00 a.m. Kurapika quickly got up from her bed, fixed it hurriedly, and literally ran to the bathroom for a quick bath. _'No time for breakfast_,' she thought to herself, as she hastily arranged her things for school. Taking a last glance on the wall mirror in the living room, she noticed the picture frame that stood on a table below it. It was a photograph of their family: her mom, her dad, and of course, her. At the bottom right of the photograph were neatly written words…

_To our sweet daughter,_

_Keep this picture always. We may not be there, but we always want you to remember us and how we love you so much. We love you so much, Kurapika._

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad_

Her lips curved into a sad smile at the thought of their parents. Of course, even without the picture, she would still remember them always, despite the fact that they rarely had time to be with her. She had learned to live alone since she was in middle school. Some might think of her parents as cruel and neglectful for always leaving her alone, but as their daughter, she understood the nature and circumstance of their professions. At any rate, she _tried_ to understand…

The clock seemed to be screaming at her and she gasped in surprise when she realized that she barely had half an hour to reach the school on time. She planted a soft kiss on the picture—a parting ritual of hers—and hurried out the door, only to return a moment later for the Library books she had borrowed yesterday.

"_Mou!_ It's entirely Kuroro's fault if I will arrive late today! If he hadn't bothered me yesterday I wouldn't have had to stay up all night to finish my research! He is _really_ going to get it!" Kurapika whined to herself as she ran as fast as she could. Luckily, _Kukuru High_ was not that far from her house: two blocks east, through the infamous construction site on a left turn (which served her as a short cut), two blocks north, and lastly, through the _Sakura Street_. And it was probably luck yet again that she was in the track team, her agility aiding her greatly in situations such as this.

Greeting some of her acquaintances whom she passed by, Kurapika finally reached the school gates. Breathing heavily, she checked her wristwatch and heaved a huge sigh of relief at having arrived there in time; with also a few minutes to spare. She followed the crowd of students hurrying towards their classes across the wide front yard but stopped halfway when she heard her name being called.

"Kurapika! Kurapika, _ohayou_!"

Kurapika turned to see Neon running towards her, her long, bright pink hair bouncing behind her. Neon Nostrad, Kurapika's only female best friend, was also the sole daughter and heiress of the president of the famous Nostrad Corporation, the largest and most successful business organization in the country of _York Shin_ at the present.

"_Ohayou_, Neon. Ah…_ohayou_, Gon. Killua." The blonde smiled as her two younger friends came up behind Neon.

"What took you so long, Kurapika? You don't usually come late." Gon eyed her with his huge eyes filled with concern. "Did something happen?"

Kurapika shook her head. "Nothing happened, Gon, don't worry. It's just that I stayed up last night to finish my research. Remember those books that I brought home yesterday?"

"Books?" Gon blinked his huge, brown eyes in innocence.

"Oi…Gon. Don't tell me you already forgot?" Killua said, eyeing the other boy embarrassingly.

There was the comical chime of a bell as Gon finally remembered. "Oh yeah! The books from yesterday!" He grinned goofily as the others sighed at him.

"Eh? Where's Leorio?" Kurapika asked, finally noticing the absence of the oldest member of their group.

"Oh…the old man? He might have mentioned about having an exam today. Probably studying for it," said Killua with a shrug. The four of them then tried to imagine what Leorio would have looked like while burying his head on his books. Seconds later, they all burst out laughing after wordlessly deciding that Leorio would definitely look like an idiot.

Meanwhile, not too far from where they were, a small group of male senior students stood watching them.

"Looks like the blonde almost got late, _ne_, Danchou?" Feitan sneered at Kuroro whom they consider as the leader of their group.

"I might have bothered her a bit too much yesterday. She probably had to stay up late last night to finish what she was doing." Kuroro replied in his casual manner, his gaze set upon Kurapika.

"_Sou…sou…demou, _Danchou," continued Feitan, a very mischievous grin forming on his lips. "It's been months since we decided on our bet. Need I remind you of it?"

Kuroro did not do as much as blink. "The bet? Of course, I haven't forgotten about it. I have not yet succeeded, apparently. She is fairly difficult to convince…"

"That makes her a 'pretty tough nut to crack'." Shalnark chimed in. "She's even making it hard for Danchou…"

_It was the first day of the semester and it was not unusual to see numerous groups of students conversing about various topics. One of the groups, however, stood out among the rest: the infamous _Genei Ryodan_. Gathered under the lone sakura tree near the campus track field, the group was mostly comprised of senior students. That day was then considered for their annual meeting. The meeting's main purpose was to inform each member about new events in the campus especially that of new students enrolled in Kukuru._

"_Arggh! This is too boring!" What was supposed to be a yawn for Ubogin became a monstrous roar to his colleagues._

_"Ubo, you dimwit! We're here too!" Nobunaga scolded his huge friend while rubbing his ears. The rest were doing the same._

_"Since when did yawning become a crime, huh?!" Ubo bellowed and as a result received simultaneous hits on the head from the others. _

_"__We told you to shut it up__!" Moments later, a fight erupted between Nobunaga and Ubogin, which in a way served as a source of entertainment for the rest._

_Kuroro Ruciful, the present top student of Kukuru, was also the leader of the Ryodan. He paid no heed to the commotion that ensued, his intent gaze set upon the book that he was reading at that time. He did, however, notice the arrival of the rest of their members, just as Pakunoda had pointed it out._

"_We're sorry, Danchou. We got caught up in class again." Shalnark reasoned, guilt dancing in his evergreen eyes._

"_That's because you wouldn't stop asking about our lesson again, Shalnark." Feitan sneered at him and Shalnark scowled in return._

"_We're here to learn, aren't we? There are some things that are too important to forget. Our recent discussion in class could definitely be useful for—"_

"_That is enough, Shalnark." Kuroro said and Shalnark immediately stopped speaking. He set aside the book that he was holding and turned to face his group. "Now that we're all here_—_" _

_"Correction, Danchou." Coltopi interrupted. "Bonorenofu is nowhere to be found."_

_"The mummy? I think he, or should I say 'it', is sleeping in his favorite place. You know that guy loves solitude. Not to mention that he's quite solitary himself." Phinx answered with the slightest bit of sarcasm in his voice._

_"Right..." Kuroro slightly nodded. "Now, to the purpose of this meeting…Anything new?" There was silence for while until…_

_"How about that new blonde in my and Machi's class?" Shizuku broke the silence of the group. The rest of the group gaped at her; it was a definite surprise that Shizuku actually remembered some thing. _

_"Uh...Shizuku, you actually remembered that?"_

_"Huh? What was it again? What were we talking about again?" Shizuku blinked innocently while enormous sweat drops appeared beside the others' heads._

_"But Shizuku's right." Machi remarked a moment later. "That blonde can be considered as something. She already gained the trust of most of our classmates, even that of the teachers."_

_"Are you talking about that blonde over there?" Pakunoda pointed her finger at a blonde junior student who was with the wealthy, pink-haired girl, Neon Nostrad._

_"That's Kuruta Kurapika, one of the junior transferees. She's already quite popular despite the fact that this is only her first day here." Nobunaga said with a curious tone._

_"Well, she is quite pretty." Shalnark mentioned as he admiringly stared at Kurapika._

_Phinx looked at the brown-haired teen. "Hey...Shalnark...don't tell me you also have a crush on her..." Phinx teased. Shalnark told him to 'shut up' in return._

_Amidst the commotion, Feitan's mind began to be filled with mischievous thoughts, his eyes glinting madly at their leader. "Ne, Danchou..."_

"_Hn?"_

_"You're the most popular guy in school. She's the most popular girl. I was just thinking..."_

_"Thinking of what?" This time, the others were listening too._

_"Want to have a little bet with me?" This made the others seemingly interested. When it came to bets, Feitan sure has a huge amount of luck. But this time, he challenged their leader. Who knows what could be up in the sleeves of this skillful senior?_

_"A bet?" Kuroro turned his blank gaze from the blonde to him._

_"Well, you'll just have to convince her to go out with you even once. If I win, I'll have to spend a week of relaxation..."_

_"And if I win?" Kuroro was obviously interested in this somehow._

_"If you win, I'll do all you want for a week. So Danchou, is it a deal or what?" Truthfully, Feitan, along with the rest of them, had expected Kuroro to refuse, since their leader was known to be asocial with people outside their group. So it was definitely a surprise when Kuroro agreed._

_"Sure...It's a deal."_

_With that, the deal was closed and it was time to decide for a strategy. Kuroro began to approach the blonde and converse with her, putting on a cheerful personality which was the complete opposite of his true self to try to know more about Kurapika. Things started out right but somehow, Kuroro landed on the wrong side. "Negative", one might say. His way of convincing her led to simply annoying her, even up to the present…_

"So…Danchou," Feitan's voice broke through his reminiscing. "Do you think you can still win? You can just say the magic words—"

"The phrase 'giving up' is not in my vocabulary. I would not simply loose in a bet." Kuroro told Feitan clearly. "Is that clear with you, Feitan?"

The usual mischievous smirk was back on Feitan's lips as he eyed Kuroro's back. "Crystal," he replied. With that, Kuroro left them silently and walked towards Kurapika's direction.

"_Maa ne…_Danchou really doesn't want to loose." Shalnark remarked with a smile and both he and Feitan watched as their leader tried to engage the blonde in a conversation.

On the other hand, it was as if an enormous red light was blinking at Kurapika as she sensed the very familiar presence of a certain someone. And indeed, it was not long before she heard Kuroro's voice from behind her.

"_Ohayou_, Kurapika."

She turned around and practically shrieked as her own face only came inches with Kuroro's smiling one. "W-What is it, Kuroro!? You startled me!" She gasped, clutching at her chest. She then turned to glare at her three friends who were laughing behind her.

"Did I? Sorry about that," said Kuroro. However, his smile did not waver at all. The blonde glared back at him, her cheeks flushed and her breathing shallow. At that, Kuroro could not help but think that she was, indeed, quite _cute_. "I saw you running earlier. Woke up late?"

"That's because I stayed up late, thank you very much. If it wasn't for you, Kuroro-_senpai_," said Kurapika with gritted teeth, putting stress on the last word as she usually did. "I would have not stayed up all night to finish my research!" She barked at Kuroro's face. With or without any reason at all, Kurapika did not bother. She simply _hated_ Kuroro and that is that.

Kuroro gave out a nervous chuckle as he waved his hands apologetically at Kurapika. "Hey…don't be so mad, all right? Fine, I'll help you finish it since it was my fault. Is that enough?"

Kurapika only turned her back on him with a snob. "I don't need your help, thank you. And I've already finished it, so you can just drown in guilt for all I care. What's so funny?!" She turned back to face Kuroro as the other began to laugh softly.

"It's just that," Kuroro started, "you should know that I'm very used to that attitude of yours. Besides, you look kind of…_cute…_every time you do this."

Something must have hit her hard on the head at Kuroro's words that Kurapika could not help but stammer. "W-What are you…talking about?! Y-You…just can't help but annoy me, can you?" She stuttered and felt her cheeks growing hotter by the second. Kuroro was lost in his own thoughts, as well, uncertain as to why he even said what he did.

Gon, on the other hand, could not help but blurt his thoughts out. "I was right, Kurapika! Kuroro does li—oomph!"

"Gon! You can't say _that_ in front of him! It's embarrassing!" Killua hissed as he kept his hands clasped over Gon's mouth. "Hehe…we'll…uh…go on ahead now! We'll see you at lunch!" He laughed nervously and dragged a struggling Gon away as fast as he could. The other three were left there staring at their retreating backs, Kurapika's face already as red as that of a tomato.

"What—?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Neon suddenly intruded. "I'm sure Gon wasn't about to say anything at all. Well, uh…it's already time and our classroom is still quite far from here so… we'll go on ahead, too. _Ne_, Kurapika?" She then grabbed Kurapika's hand and started to walk away from Kuroro.

"Wait!" Kuroro came in front of them. "I feel unusually bad for what I did this time because I know how difficult research papers are to make. Let me make it up to you, Kurapika."

Kurapika turned to look at him, but ended up staring in the other direction as she tried to hide her flushed cheeks. "H-How do you plan to…manage…that?"

Unknown to the two, this was simply part of another of Kuroro's plans to succeed on his part of their bet. He sent a cursory glance at Feitan's direction, which caused a sudden shiver on the latter's part.

"What is it?" Shalnark asked after noticing Feitan shiver.

Feitan only brought his hand to his forehead and sighed. "Looks like I'm about to loose." He murmured and Shalnark exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, I was wondering if you could…just maybe…" Kuroro started. "Well, we really could just go—"

"Oh, gosh, look at the time, Kurapika! The bell's going to ring at any second! We _have_ to go!" With that, Neon hastily dragged Kurapika off and Kuroro was the only one left, apparently frustrated that his chance was taken away. With a sigh, he went back to where Feitan and Shalnark stood watching him.

"Too close, Danchou." Feitan sneered maliciously at him. "But unfortunately, Luck is still on my side. I guess I would have to thank Nostrad, too. If it wasn't for her I would have… lost… already…" He stopped the time he felt Kuroro's cold glare dawn upon him. "Of course… it _is_ just luck. Isn't it?" He stammered.

Just then, Shalnark caught site of a group heading towards their direction. "It looks like they're here." Soon enough, the other members of Genei Ryodan came to where they were.

"Danchou..." Phinx started the moment he reached Kuroro. "We saw you talking to Kuruta earlier. Still trying to convince that blonde?"

"He won't give up that easily, Phinx." Pakunoda noted.

"I know that. So what happened?"

"He was this close to convincing Kurapika," answered Shalnark, trying to imitate the degree of "closeness" by the use of his fingers. "It was unusual, but she looked like she would have agreed. Unfortunately, if it wasn't for the time, he should have won by now."

"That's too bad..." The others said in unison as they shook their heads.

"_Ne_, Danchou..." Hisoka's voice, Kuroro suddenly noticed, appeared to be more distinct among the rest. "Do you want me to convince her?" The joker said, his narrow eyes glinting devilishly.

Kuroro stared intently at him, his gaze cold and hard. "No," he said firmly. Hisoka, Kuroro knew very well, loved to do things with his own, special methods. His methods, however, could not be entirely tolerated at all.

"All right... if that's what you want, Danchou."

A few moments later, the school bell rang which meant that all of them were, once again, late for their respective classes.

…**To be continued…**

**A/N:** Chapter two! Oh, my gosh, I thought I would never finish this (faints again). But I did it! I really did! :) Haha… although this is, apparently, longer than the old one, it is generally still the same. I might have added and/or omitted a scene or two, but the idea is the same. There _is _one thing, though: I have decided Shalnark to be a senior student rather than a junior. I guess this could be considered as one of the main points of this revision. Still, I hope you liked it!

_Saa…_ it's on to the next chapter! :) Uh… reviews please?


	3. Mere Problems and Accidents

**Chapter Three: Mere problems and accidents**

A sigh. Another. And another still.

Kurapika sat on her desk watching the falling leaves outside. Last period had already ended, the loud chimes of the school bell echoing throughout the campus. But it was as if she had not heard anything at all. In fact, she had been in such an unusual state eversince her conversation with Kuroro earlier that morning.

"Kurapika. _Ne_, Kurapika…"

What could he have meant when he remarked that she was "cute"? Did it actually mean something in the first place? Or maybe she was only thinking too much? _'Arrgh…this is Gon's fault.'_ Another sigh escaped her lips before she buried her face in her hands.

"KU…RA…PI…KA!" A voice stubbornly kept calling at her. She lifted her head and saw Neon's face only inches from hers.

"What is it?"

"What do you mean by 'what is it'?!" Neon pouted at her with puffed up cheeks. "I've been calling your name for the 'nth time already and that's all you could give me as a reply?!" She went to kneel down in front of Kurapika's desk and clasped the other's hands tightly within her own. "You're still wondering about this morning, aren't you? You see…if you think it's impossible for Kuroro to like you, then it is!" She grinned widely. "Boys are like that. They like to fool around with words. So don't think about it too much, all right?" She knew she was not bright, especially in academics, but she considered herself an expert when it came to this kind of matter.

A blush suddenly tainted Kurapika's cheeks. "What are you talking about? I wasn't thinking of that," she lied. She then grabbed her things from under the table and walked to the door. "Let's go. We still have that assignment for Home Economics." She said without looking back. After she had thanked Neon for taking her away from Kuroro that morning, she had spent almost an entire hour repeating to the other her conversation with Gon the day before and assuring Neon (it was, rather, more of assuring herself) that what the boy thought could never be possible. Every time she would remember Kuroro's remark, however, she could not help but blush.

Neon, in the meantime, giggled softly as she followed behind Kurapika. _'Although,'_ she thought. _'Kuroro liking you is not entirely impossible at all…'_ She smiled as she remembered the curious expression on the senior's face the time he said _that_. Kurapika did not notice it of course, and, Neon was certain, neither did Kuroro. Gon and Killua might have had, though…

They walked out of the building and headed for the direction of the greenhouses. The sun was already beginning to set; shades of orange and indigo tainted the cloudless afternoon sky. A warm breeze gently swept across the campus, bringing with it the news of the arrival of summer. Spring was about to end, and naturally, summer was just around the corner.

On their way there, they passed by a group of senior students gathered in front of a gigantic canvass, which was leaned against a wall of a school building for support. There were numerous buckets of paint and bundles of paintbrushes set atop a long wooden table. Some of the senior students were conversing and debating about something, while the others, each of them perched atop a stepladder, were already painting vague forms on the canvas. A woman with long, chocolate-colored hair in an artist's outfit stood nearby and watched the class' progress. Kurapika and Neon approached her as their curiosity got the best of them. "Good afternoon, Miss Hiruki." The blonde greeted pleasantly.

Miss Hiruki turned around to face them. "Ah… A pleasant afternoon to you, too, young ladies." She said in return, her mahogany eyes sparkling magnificently with the afternoon glow.

Neon could not help but express her admiration. "You look very beautiful today, Hiruki-_sensei_!" She admiringly commented. "Your clothes look really nice on you!" Kurapika and Miss Hiruki softly laughed at her.

"Thank you, Nostrad-_san_. Well, it does go along with my title, doesn't it?" Miss Hiruki was, in truth, a licensed and professional artist. Teaching, to use her own words, was basically an interest that she had had ever since she was a child. She handled most of the Arts and Crafts subjects, both in the junior and senior departments. "_Saa_…what do you think of this?" She was pertaining to the current activity of the senior students which, for Kurapika, was still generally indistinguishable.

"_Anou_," muttered Kurapika. "I'm sorry but, what exactly are they doing, _sensei_?"

"I know!" Neon chimed in. "It's for the bazaar, isn't it, Miss Hiruki?" She asked. Miss Hiruki gave a nod in reply.

"Bazaar?"

"Since the festival is only a few weeks away, I decided that this would be the best project to assign to them. Let's just say that it is also, in a way, a presentation of their _artistic_ skills, _ne_?" Miss Hiruki added with a wink as Kurapika and Neon chuckled. "But honestly, this was a student's idea; not mine. Come." She ushered the other two towards one of the seniors atop a ladder, a can of paint placed beside him, and called, "Ruciful, you might want to use a darker shade of yellow. It is quite indistinguishable from afar."

At the mention of Kuroro's name, Kurapika became unusually tense, which Neon immediately noticed.

"I will, then, _sensei_. Feitan, hand me a—" Kuroro called out from his place but stopped when he noticed the blonde standing beside Miss Hiruki. "Kurapika?"

"W-what?" The blonde stuttered, averting her gaze.

"So it is you. _Konnichiwa_." Kuroro said with a smile, a strange sensation of happiness building up inside of him at the sight of the blonde.

Kurapika glanced up at him, a faint shade of red tainting her cheeks. _'Mou! Why am I like this all of a sudden?!'_ She thought helplessly. _'I should already be mad by now because he's in front of me, not this!'_ She cried mentally. "_Kon…nichiwa_, Kuroro." She replied softly but gasped in surprise when Miss Hiruki suddenly exclaimed.

"Eh…most of my students told me that the two of you are in constant disagreement with each other, but it seems that they were wrong!" Miss Hiruki childishly grinned at her.

"They do?" Neon inquired as she came behind Kurapika, her tone of voice noticeably exaggerated. "Did they say anything else, _sensei_?" She added as she placed her hands on Kurapika's shoulders, all the while grinning slyly at the blonde.

"Well…" A mischievous glint flashed in Miss Hiruki's eyes as her gaze went from a seemingly confused Kuroro to a blushing Kurapika. "They also said that Ruciful's attitude would always be _different_ when he's with Kuruta-_san_. And I also noticed…I rarely see him smile during my class!" She said with a dreamy expression on her face. "Could it be that _something_ is beginning to blossom as we speak? Most of them also agree that the two of you look very nice together. And I must say that they are right about that, are they not, Nostrad-_san_?" Miss Hiruki finished and began to laugh haughtily with Neon.

"W-wait a second, that's not it!" Kurapika started to reason as she blushed furiously. "We _are_ in constant disagreement, Miss Hiruki! In fact, he caused me trouble only recently! It's just that he, in a way, apologized to me earlier, that's why I'm not so mad at him now! But that doesn't mean anything!" Kurapika cried, almost to the point of shrieking, as she tried to reason out with the two females who were still laughing in front of her. To her annoyance, the rest of the senior class were already beginning to notice them, but she felt more annoyed of herself for acting so foolishly. However, her frustration worsened further when Kuroro spoke.

"Did you just say that you're not mad at me, Kurapika? That's unusual. But that makes me glad as well." Kuroro smiled again. In truth, he really was glad…

"_Yapari desu!_" Miss Hiraki said between giggles. "So…are you two really _together_ just as some of them say?"

At that, Kurapika felt as if she was going to explode in embarrassment. "NO!" She bellowed. "That can never be possible, Miss Hiruki, because I hate this guy!" Kuroro started to speak but Kurapika did not allow him. "And you! I never said I'm not mad at you! I'm still mad at you and I always will be!" The blonde glared up at him, anger and embarrassment evident in her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding very hard against her chest and the blood rushing to her face. "_That_ can never happen…Never…" She muttered under her breath, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

Kuroro, meanwhile, was also surprised at Miss Hiruki's words. He was not even aware of those rumors. Did all those times he spent with Kurapika, trying to convince her and win the bet, really amount to that misunderstanding? Could a relationship between them actually be possible? He only wanted to win a simple bet, for goodness' sake…

"_Maa ne_…" said Kuroro, having decided to play along. "It wouldn't be bad at all if that happened, would it? After all those times we spent together, it's quite possible."

_It is very possible_, thought Kuroro as he began to descend the stepladder.

Kurapika could feel jets of steam coming out of her both ears as her self-control finally reached its limit. Whether it was due to anger or embarrassment, she was uncertain, but that did not mean that she would just bottle it all up. She approached where Kuroro was and bellowed, "I'd rather fall for a monkey than be with you! You're so arrogant and full of yourself! You're such a—" But what Kuroro was, they never knew. What followed happened so fast and yet, it was as if time had completely stopped as well.

In Kuroro's haste to descend the stepladder and confront Kurapika on steady ground, he accidentally knocked over the can of paint he was using earlier. It overturned and the content inside burst out in a golden shower, splattering the canvas and the stepladder, and drenching Kurapika from head to toe.

"Kurapika!"

"Kuruta-_san_!"

The numerous shrieks from the people around her, nor the loud clanging noise that came from the can of paint hitting hard ground, did not reach Kurapika's senses. All she sensed was the thick and sticky feel of the paint on her skin, along with its putrid smell that she knew could even suffocate her. She felt rooted to the ground, her eyes wide from utter shock. It was long before she finally noticed anything else, and realized that she was not alone.

"Kurapika…" There came Kuroro's voice as Kurapika felt the paint being wiped off of her face. "Are you all right? Say something." Kuroro said worriedly but was taken aback when Kurapika slapped his hand away. When he looked back at her, Kuroro noticed that her eyes almost appeared scarlet from the sun's glow, yet he was quite certain that Kurapika was seeing red at that moment. "Kurapika…"

Kurapika did not know what to do. She wanted to run away but her feet felt glued to the ground. She was evidently trembling. She wanted to do something unforgivable to the person in front of her. She was petrified until the cruel and mocking laughter from the other seniors finally broke through to her senses. At that, she abruptly turned and ran, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

However, it was when she heard Kuroro bellow forcefully at his fellow seniors to stop laughing, that she finally broke down and cried, her chest heaving painfully with every gasp.

More than an hour later, Kurapika emerged from Neon's personal lavatory, all cleaned up and refreshed.

"You all right now, Kurapika?" Neon approached her with her uniform, which was already washed, dried, pressed and folded in just a short span of time, and another pair of fresh clothes. "Here. You can use these for the meantime." She said, holding out the fresh clothes to her. She watched as Kurapika put on the white blouse and cotton jeans. "You know," she started. "Miss Hiruki was really worried about you." She said in an unusually quiet voice, her gaze scanning Kurapika's face.

Kurapika finished the last button and started to fold the bathrobe she had used. "I know I would have to apologize to her. I am pretty sure that the canvass was ruined." The blonde muttered in a defeated tone of voice.

"It's not your fault, Kurapika!" Neon said. "It was an accident. And even if it was someone's fault, it's still not yours. Though I'm pretty sure it would be Kuroro's. He _was_ the one that caused…uh…" Neon clasped a hand to her mouth nervously but knew that it was too late.

From the blonde's eyes did a mixture of emotions flash liberally and threateningly. Kurapika was furious, enraged even, as evidenced by the steady shade of red on her cheeks coupled with her extraordinarily calm demeanor. When she spoke, the coldness of her voice could have rivaled that of Titanic's iceberg.

"I'd rather not talk about that." Tight. Void of emotion.

Neon nodded awkwardly and suggested they proceeded downstairs for dinner. Kurapika agreed, and a few minutes after they were descending the grand marble staircase that led to the mansion's lobby. Neon led the way to a sitting room, complete with its own minibar and a set of occupied plush sofas. It seemed that Neon had other guests.

"Oi! Kurapika!" Killua shouted from mid-air.

"Kurapika!" Gon jumped off from one of the sofas and hurried to the blonde. Obviously, he and Killua had turned the plush sofas into trampolines. "Are you all right now, Kurapika? That was an awful mess."

Leorio came from behind the boy and caught him in a headlock. "Of course, she's all right now, Gon. She already took a bath!"

As laughter was exchanged between the group, a butler appeared at the door and announced that dinner was served.

"Dinner!" Cat-like ears literally popped out from the sides of Killua's head as he performed a somersault from the sofa and landed, curiously and amazingly, at the door. "Let's eat! I'm starving!" Another set of giggles erupted from the group as they followed the silver-haired boy out of the sitting room. When it comes to gluttony, Killua was a definite top-notcher.

After a long and well-deserved dinner, along with a scene of a naughty Killua being chased by a helpless Gon who was stolen of his slice of meat, they proceeded back towards the sitting room and comfortably settled themselves on the plush sofas.

"Ah... I'm really full!" Killua mentioned while rubbing his already protruding abdomen.

"That's because you added my meat in your menu! You're so mean, Killua!" Said a fuming Gon.

"Hey, don't get so upset, Gon. Besides, you don't need much than I do."

"But that was mine! Weren't you thought not to take anything that wasn't yours?"

"Hmmm... let me think... nnnnope." Killua yawned. That was the last straw for Gon. Growling, the shorter boy pounced, and the chase began.

"Gon! Come on, I was just joking!" Said Killua as he ran for his life.

"No! You always do that! You're so unfair!" Gon bellowed.

"OK! OK! I won't do it again! Just—oof!" Killua stumbled as he tripped over a stray pillow, giving Gon a clear chance bring his whole weight down on Killua, specifically at his back.

"Treat me, Killua! And that should be a promise! A promise!"

Killua had no choice. It was either the white flag or a spinal fracture. "Ok—oof—you win, Gon! Just—GET OFF!" Killua yelled desperately as Gon, from sheer excitement, attempted to turn _his_ back into a trampoline.

"Sorry, Killua. You know how I act when I'm happy."

"Yeah. Well, next time, try not to sit on me." Annoyance was copious in Killua's voice as he dusted his clothes and trudged back towards the sofas. "What's so funny?" He hissed menacingly at the others who did nothing to conceal their laughter.

After a few more laughing fits, the group finally settled into a comforting silence. Even Kurapika had a smile on her face.

"Glad to see you smile, Kurapika." Gon voiced out.

All attention was then focused on the blonde, who shook her head and smiled apologetically. "No, I'm fine. Sorry for making you all worry. It was just paint, after all." The others gave her reassuring smiles; they know better than to discuss the matter further. In front of her, that is.

"Well, then," Neon stood up. "I'll have a room prepared for you, Kurapika. It's best you stay here for tonight."

Kurapika's brows rose in objection. "No, Neon. I've caused you enough trouble already. I'd rather go—"

"Oh, no, you don't, missy. You're not going anywhere outside this late at night."

"But I—"

"No buts, young lady. It's take it or take it." Persistent, Neon was. Complete with the tone of voice, the facial expression, and the hands on her waist.

Kurapika was about to surrender when Leorio offered to walk her home. Of course, the blonde took the opportunity and insisted more. In the end, Neon yielded first. "Fine. You can all go home. On one condition: I'll have you all in a car." It was more than enough for Kurapika.

As the blonde went upstairs to collect her belongings, Neon turned back to the others and voiced out the thought that had been gnawing on her subconscious since earlier that afternoon. "I think Kuroro likes Kurapika."

Leorio put up with a choking manner. Killua let out a long whistle. Gon had a grin as wide as the Pacific on his face. "I told you so." The boy sang.

"How'd you come to that, Neon? We all know Kurapika hates him." Leorio said, still unbelieving.

"The paint shower was a complete accident. Kuroro didn't do it on purpose. Even thought I don't want to believe it—and I'm pretty sure Kurapika won't—he was sincere in his concern for her. Just before we left, I saw him. He was furious at those who laughed at Kurapika." She placed one leg over the other.

"Still, Kurapika—"

"Crap it, gramps. It's only Kurapika who has hate issues. I don't think Kuroro does." Killua blurted out from his place on the floor.

For a moment, they fell silent, each considering the implications and would-be consequences of the situation. The silence was broken by footsteps on the marble staircase, presumably Kurapika's. As the blonde neared the sitting room, the others came to their conclusion.

"Kuroro likes her."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Danchou likes her." Snort.

It was another typical Genei Ryodan "hang-out". Supposedly.

After the incident earlier that afternoon, Kuroro had been dead silent. He was obviously preoccupied. Of what?

"Not what. Whom." Feitan snorted for the second time. They all knew the answer. Their leader was worried over paint-covered Kurapika, regardless of whether she was still drenched in it or not.

"No doubt about it," said Pakunoda. She approached Kuroro and asked, "Anything wrong, Danchou?" But Kuroro only gave a casual jerk of his head and regarded her with a smirk.

The troop followed him from behind as he began to walk away. Somehow, Feitan managed to match his step with Kuroro's, and it was with a sneer that he started to talk.

"You like her, don't you? Danchou?"

"Like who?"

"That blonde. Kurapika. You like Kurapika Kuruta."

The statement seemed to have done its trick. Kuroro came to an abrupt halt and gave Feitan a look that told of his bewilderment. "Your evidence?"

"Your anger. Danchou can control his emotions, whatever the situation is. The fit you threw earlier: it was a first." The sneer on Feitan's face could not become any wider. "Looks like our bet is making plans of its own, isn't it?"

Silence.

"If that's the case, then Shalnark likes Kurapika, too." Phinx voice carried out through the silence of the group.

"Eh? Really?"

"I didn't know Shalnark actually liked someone!"

"I do not!" Shalnark bellowed. His knees almost gave way when Ubogin approached him and gave him an unusually strong pat on the back.

"Of course, you do," was Ubogin's remark. "Everybody likes somebody."

"That's an interesting theory of yours, Ubo. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to me. Because I—"

"—like Kurapika." Phinx finished the statement with a flourish.

The banter erupted. Amidst the commotion, the others seemed to have forgotten about Kuroro who, nonetheless, did not seem to care. There was a ring of truth in Feitan's words: it was not impossible for him to be attracted to Kurapika. Who wouldn't be? Was it, however, possible for him to actually _fall_ for her?

_It's only a bet._ Yet it was going to bother his thoughts for a while.

…**To be continued…**

**A/N:** Chapter three! Took me long enough. I'd best start with the next, then. Don't forget your reviews. :)


	4. Something Unexpected

**Chapter Four: Something Unexpected**

A couple of days have passed after the whole "paint incident" yet it was still the talk of the campus. How rumors manage to spread so fast and last for so long is yet another of life's mysteries, although Kurapika would have been more surprised if it had not.

"Hey, that's her!"

"Really? Did her hair turn blonde after that?"

"She's really blonde, stupid!"

"But that's so embarrassing! Imagine, being drenched in paint—"

"Kurapika!"

Gon's voice was like a sharp-edged dagger that cut through all the murmuring around her. It was with a smile that she turned to the direction from where it came, only to find all of her friends waving at her.

"Gon."

"_Ohayou_, Kurapika." The boy said with a huge grin.

"It's been annoying like hell, hearing all these jerks gossiping about you. I can teach them a thing or two, if you like. In exchange for something, of course." Killua grinned sheepishly as the others laughed at him.

As conversations began within their small group, Kurapika could not help but notice Gon's unusual fidgeting. She walked in step with the spiky-haired boy who seemed to deliberately follow behind them instead of his usual place beside Killua. "Is there something wrong, Gon?"

"Nothing, Kurapika," said an apparently uneasy Gon. He was constantly looking around, searching amidst the sea of students.

"You're not a good liar, Gon." Kurapika said, placing her hand on Gon's shoulder. At that moment though, Gon seemed to have found what he was searching for. He turned to Kurapika with an expression of sincerity and, surprisingly, guilt.

"Kurapika, can you come with me for moment? Even just for few minutes?" Gon's eyes, illuminated by the sunshine, were like pure diamonds glinting under the morning sun. Who could possibly deny this boy of his request?

With a nod, Kurapika let the boy lead her away from the bustling school entrance and towards a more secluded area of the school, curious as Gon did not even inform the others as he pulled her away. They walked along a pathway lined by trees on both sides which also led to the greenhouses, Kurapika realized, though it was a different path from the one she usually took with Neon. She also noticed that Gon seemed to grow more troubled by the second. But before she could address this concern, a figure stepped out from behind a tree and stood in front of them.

It was Kuroro.

Gon turned to Kurapika. "Please don't be mad, Kurapika. Kuroro-_senpai_ told me he wanted to apologize and asked for my help. I believe that he was being honest and—please don't go!" Cried Gon and he moved to block Kurapika's path as the blonde attempted to leave.

"Move aside, Gon."

The boy flinched at Kurapika's hostility. He knew she would be mad, but he did not expect her to be this enraged. "But—"

"Don't be mad at him, Kurapika." Kuroro's voice came from behind the blonde. "This is not his fault. I was the one who approached him. You need not vent your anger on him."

"So you're willing to take the blame?" was Kurapika's response. The coldness of her demeanor made the senior realize that his attempts would indeed be futile, but he nonetheless pursued his chances.

Kuroro approached her slowly and stood a mere foot away from her, the tip of his tie almost touching the side of Kurapika's cheek as it danced playfully with the wind. "I guess I am." He sent a knowing glance at Gon, at which the latter gave a small nod and quietly walked away.

With only the two of them left, Kuroro knew that it would be more difficult to convince Kurapika. Still, he was not one to be defeated without a fight. He grabbed tight hold of Kurapika's wrist as the blonde attempted to leave for the second time and earned a deadly glare in return. If looks could kill, he would have probably died a hundred times over by now.

"What do you want?" It came out as a hiss.

"You know it was an accident. And I know that despite that fact, you don't believe in it."

"I was humiliated."

"I was worried."

At that, Kurapika's breath caught. She did not, in the very least, expect for Kuroro to utter such a statement. It was composed of only three short words, yet the expression in Kuroro's eyes curiously held an even deeper meaning that Kurapika found it impossible to avert her gaze.

Kuroro could see that she was startled by this. He had expected her to be. But it was not only meant for something as simple as having her attention. It was, Kuroro now realized, the truth.

Still holding Kurapika's wrist, Kuroro took a step towards the blonde who was staring at him with such bewilderment, their faces only inches away from each other. An innocent blush was noticeable on her cheeks, and it turned a deeper shade of red when he took hold of a lock of her golden hair, twisting it gently around his finger. "I was really worried."

"W-Why would you be?" Kurapika stuttered. Kuroro's breath felt warm on her face, his touch unexpectedly pleasant. The resentment she had was replaced by admiration, and she could not help but feel at ease just being this close to him.

But the answer Kuroro gave her broke through her reverie.

The silence was split by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Kuroro's eyes were wide in shock and his cheek throbbed from the force of Kurapika's slap. Then the blonde left without another word.

* * *

"There you are!"

Neon's voice was like a siren's wail above all the cafeteria noise. Kurapika looked up from her oversized lard and beef burger to the scowling face of the Nostrad heiress. "Where have you been? Gon told us you had to do something. But I didn't expect this something to be so important for you to skip morning classes!" Neon practically screamed at her. "I was so worried wondering about what might have happened to you, and now I find you eating an extra large burger in the middle of a crowded cafeteria?" She pushed Kurapika's food tray aside and looked the blonde straight in the eye. "What happened? And you can't tell me it's nothing because I know you well, Kurapika. You won't eat such a life-threatening meal unless it's a major crisis. And so far, this is the worst." She threw a look of utter disgust at the culinary abomination.

"Actually, this isn't the worst. I once made and ate my own lard stew, with mustard, peppers, and I don't know what. I threw up for two days." The blonde said matter-of-factly.

"Not funny, Kurapika."

Sky blue bore into aquamarine, and Kurapika was forced to throw her hands up in defeat.

As Neon settled herself on the seat in front of Kurapika, Gon and Killua came bounding towards their table. The smaller of the two turned pleading eyes at Kurapika, at which the blonde said, "It's all right, Gon." Apparently though, Gon still felt guilty, and it was not long before the boy broke down.

"I-I'm so sor… ry… Kurapika… I s-shouldn't… have… ag… r-reed…" Gon whimpered between sobs.

"Oi!" Killua easily wrapped his arm around Gon's shoulders. "You're a man, aren't you? You shouldn't cry so easily! And not here, stupid, people will notice." The white-haired lad joked, ruffling the other's spiky hair. "And Kurapika's not mad at you. Isn't that right?" The sly smirk adorning Killua's face gave Kurapika the curious sensation of being threatened.

The blonde nodded albeit warily and smiled genuinely at Gon, reaching her hand out to place it on the boy's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Gon. And you know that I can never be mad at you. No one can."

"But—"

"You're just too nice for your own good," Kurapika added sarcastically. This managed to cheer Gon up, however, and he wiped his face with his sleeves and gave his usual goofy grin.

The two boys seated themselves adjacent to the other two, and Neon once again launched her attack on Kurapika. The blonde managed to fend of Neon's curiosity, careful not to commit the ever-so-inadvertent Freudian slip that the other was clearly aiming for. Fortunately, the frustratingly loud chime of the school bell gave her a reason to disrupt Neon's barrage of questions. She stood up from her seat and dragged Neon with her, Gon and Killua following them from behind. "I'll tell you when I do, all right? So will you please stop?" She said when Neon did not show any sign of holding her tongue.

As they reached the cafeteria exit however, the doors swung open and revealed the person Kurapika least wanted to see.

"Hey. It's Kuruta."

The Genei Ryodan stood at the other side of the doorframe, their attention focused on Kurapika. But Kurapika was neither intimidated by this nor did she even notice.

Kuroro stood perfectly still a few feet away from her. His perfect face was marred by the red and purple flush on his cheek, which was brought about by Kurapika's momentarily ill manner (now that she thought about it). She had the strangest urge of reaching out and touching his face, but it would be irrational and Kurapika was all about rationality. The thought of why she actually hit him brought a sudden blush to her features though, and she hurriedly strode away from the scene with her friends in tow.

"Well, that was weird." Pakunoda voiced out. Her eyes trailed away from the blonde's retreating figure to the forming bruise on their leader's face. "May I presume that she was the one behind that, Danchou?"

"Kurapika did that?" was the chorus of the rest of the group.

Kuroro, who had his own gaze fixed on Kurapika, gave no reaction but instead entered the cafeteria in silence. The rest of the group followed behind him, with Ubogin and Nobunaga giving out absurd remarks and Feitan sneering to his self. They proceeded to their usual table at the back of the cafeteria and sat on their respective places, the members of the group sending inquisitive glances at the leader. After a few minutes of silence, the group broke out to get their meals, having decided that their leader was to divulge absolutely nothing.

Shalnark, however, was pulled back by Kuroro. "What is it, Danchou?"

"You're a library rep, too, aren't you?"

Shalnark nodded. "I am. Is there something wrong about that?"

"No, there's nothing. It's perfect, actually."

The look Kuroro was giving him sent Shalnark's brain into overdrive. All of a sudden, he knew exactly what Kuroro wanted from him and had a complete knowledge of the other's dilemma even without Kuroro uttering a word. "So it _was_ Kurapika."

"Your skill in deduction is truly exceptional. There's not even the need to lay out the facts."

"There's no need to compliment me, Danchou. Although, I am still unsure as to why she slapped you in the first place."

"I said something… unexpected."

"Unexpected?" An eyebrow rose. "Considering it was Kurapika, it would be hard to believe that she would do this for the simple reason of hearing a phrase she did not anticipate. Was it an insult? A threat maybe? Or perhaps—" Both his eyebrows rose incredulously high on his forehead. "Is it possible that what Feitan said, about you liking Kurapika, is true?"

"It seems to me that you have no need of an explanation." Kuroro said. "You should consider being a psychologist, being able to read my thoughts so explicitly."

"So you really do!"

"I just want you to talk to her, Shalnark, since she seems to be less wary of you. Never mind the reason. Basically, I only wanted to apologize." Kuroro leaned back onto his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Things obviously got out of hand." He sighed exasperatedly.

Shalnark was overwhelmed by this sudden, albeit imprecise, confession from their leader. Before the others returned, he told Kuroro, "Nothing wrong with that, Danchou. Given the time you spent with her, I'm not completely surprised. As Ubo says, _'everybody likes somebody'_. I can't believe I just said that." He threw a disgusted look at the large man's direction. "Either way, I'll talk to her, Danchou. I'm sure she'll understand."

* * *

"No, I don't understand."

Kurapika huffed as she strode along with Neon, Gon and Killua. They had launched an onslaught on her since their meeting with Genei Ryodan. Apparently, she need not explain the whole situation to them as they already saw what happened to Kuroro. She did not even need to tell them her reason because they _already knew_. They were not her friends for nothing.

"But it all fits!"

"You have to admit it, Kurapika. Gon was right."

"Yeah, that guy's not all bad, y'know."

"I told you there was a reason why he—"

"All right, that's enough!" was Kurapika's retort and the trio fell silent immediately. "There's only one explanation to this and that's the fact that Kuroro Ruciful is a shameless hypocrite."

"But Kurapika," Gon _was_ the most stubborn of the three. "Remember what I told you? That he was always making an impression on you because he somehow liked you?"

Kurapika could feel jitters running down her spine at the word _'like'_. "And you promised not to bring that up again, didn't you?" Gon fell silent at this. The blonde sighed as she arranged the books piled up on her arms and gave the other three a sincere smile. "Kuroro was most likely fooling me, so you don't need to give it much thought. That aside, I have to take these books back to the library so I'll be going first." She turned around and started towards the direction of the library. Looking back, she called out, "Later at my place! You haven't forgotten, have you? Remind Leorio about it, too!"

The others grinned and Neon said, "I'll have my attendants deliver the ingredients you asked for straight at your house!" Kurapika waved back at them, turned at a corner, and was gone.

As soon as the blonde was gone, the three sped off back towards the school building. On the course of their discussions with Kurapika, they suddenly had an unspoken agreement with what they had to do. With haste, they coursed through the hallways now cluttered with students leaving their respective classrooms. They climbed the stairs towards the higher floors and proceeded towards the senior classrooms, intent on finding their prey. They need not search long however, as they found the object of their hunt in the first classroom they entered.

Kuroro looked up from the book he was patiently scrutinizing when shadows loomed over the pages. "Odd. Seeing you three here."

"We need to talk."

Seeing the look that his juniors were giving him, Kuroro stood from his seat and led them out of the room. Outside, he leaned at one of the windows, observing the students (who looked strangely like ants from his view on the seniors' floor) scurrying the grounds below, and said, "Am I about to get the death sentence? Because I'm thinking of whether you could postpone it until graduation so that I could die more contently."

Killua let out a '_pfft'_ sound at this and Gon had to nudge him in the ribs while containing his own laughter. Neon, too, was grinning at Kuroro not because of the joke, but because Kuroro actually told one. "Guess you're really not that bad a person as we thought you were."

Kuroro regarded her with his usual skepticism. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"And a compliment it is." Neon beamed at him. "So—"

"Do you like Kurapika?" Gon burst out and it was Killua's turn to nudge him. Kuroro was taken aback by this but did not let it show in his face. Instead, he gave Gon a simple smirk.

"I don't."

Now it was obvious that the trio did not expect his answer as a single look of surprise came to their faces. "But you—And Kurapika, she—"

"It's something _more_ than that." Kuroro supplied with a huge sigh. He turned his gaze out the window once more and jerked in surprise when Neon gave out a loud squeal which the other seniors did not fail to notice.

The pink head pointed an accusing finger at him and said, "I knew it!"

"Yeah, and I would appreciate it if you would not scream out like that anymore."

Neon's grin was from ear to ear as she stared at the senior. "Looks like cupid got a bullseye. _Ne, senpai_?" Kuroro stared back at her and smiled.

"No wonder Kurapika slapped you. So how did it happen?"

"No idea."

"Stupid Killua. You don't need a reason for this kind of thing." Gon said with an air of superiority, apparently mimicking his aunt with his hands on his hips.

Killua gave him a hit on the head, clearly annoyed that Gon was acting smarter than him. "And when did _you_ ever know something about this? Huh?!"

As the two boys began their little squabble, to which the other seniors were already giving more interest to by the second, Neon continued her little interrogation. "So, it still is a 'yes', isn't it?"

"So what if it is?"

"Well," By now, a group of seniors had already gathered around Gon and Killua, the two already beating up each other physically like they always did. "Kurapika might not like it, but I'll make a deal with you—"

"It's a deal." Kuroro said definitely.

"But I haven't even laid out the consequences yet!"

"No matter, it's a deal." He moved in haste to break up the two boys who were stirring up quite a commotion already, leaving Neon no other choice but to follow after him.

Meanwhile, Kurapika had returned the books she had been carrying and was just about to leave the library premises when a voice called her back. Turning to look at whoever it was, she found Shalnark heading towards her. "_Senpai_?"

"I thought I won't be able to catch you," said Shalnark, smiling. Kurapika was obviously puzzled as to why he approached her, and Shalnark was quick to notice this. Waving his hands in front of him he said, "I'm not going to insult you about what happened a few days ago or anything, don't worry. It's just that… well… you do know who I am, don't you?" He asked, feeling a bit stupid at the moment. He really was never good at conversations with the opposite sex (with the exception of the females in their group).

Kurapika grew more puzzled. "I do. _Senpai_'s name is Shalnark, isn't it? And you're part of— Oh…" A sudden understanding came to her and she regarded Shalnark warily. "Did Kuroro tell you?"

"Indirectly," Shalnark answered. "Danchou has this certain ability of telling people what he wanted without uttering even a single word about it. So, would you mind coming with me for a moment?" He was mentally pleading to whoever god was out there that Kurapika would say yes, and fortunately, he was in luck.

They left the library and went to sit on one of the benches outside. The setting sun emitted that usual eerie yet soothing glow, and evening was slowly creeping out on the horizon. Praying that he was playing his cards right, Shalnark said, "You really don't mind talking to me about this matter?"

Kurapika glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "To be honest, I do. I just don't want to appear disrespectful."

"Oh," Shalnark blinked. "Well, uh… how do I say this?" The lad muttered, unconsciously bringing his hand to his face and resting his chin on his thumb. "Danchou clearly told me that he wanted to apologize. He could have been the one talking to you now and not me, but I suppose he did not want to further infuriate you. Things—"

"Got out of hand?" The blonde finished for him. Shalnark was about to retort when his own breath got caught in his throat: Kurapika was smiling _sweetly_ at him. That she was considered as one of the prettiest faces in their school was an understatement. He could not even remember the last time his heart pounded so fiercely against his chest just because a girl was _smiling_ at him.

"W-Well," Shalnark gulped. "Yeah… That—That's what Danchou said." He could feel a blush forming across his face and he hastily turned away. "But you see, he really wanted to—apologize?" The last word came out as a question as Shalnark noticed something rather odd about the bushes in front of them. It was shaking rather fiercely for a bush and it had _gray _leaves at the top. Shalnark could feel the corner of his mouth beginning to twitch as a vein throbbed in his temple.

"_Senpai_?"

"Well," Shalnark said after a few seconds of silence. "I know that _Danchou_," he spoke rather loudly, "was sincere in his apologies." Kurapika stared at him in uncertainty, apparently baffled at the sudden uneasiness that he was showing. He sighed and rubbed his throbbing temple. "At any rate, I don't know what he told you exactly but I hope you will understand. Danchou meant no harm. And I've known him for so long to know that he is not a liar." He said in all sincerity, suddenly wondering whether he should say something about the bet that their leader had been trying hard to win, but decided against it. Then he stood up and smiled rather oddly at Kurapika, saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I have to straighten out a few things around here."

Before he could leave however, Kurapika stood as well and called out, "Thank you."

"What?" It was Shalnark's turn to be befuddled.

"_Senpai_ is really nice. It would have been nice if Kuroro was like you. But I—wait!" Kurapika shouted as Shalnark suddenly broke out at a run and hurried away from her with, to her utter surprise, three other individuals (who came out of nowhere) chasing ater him.

Sighing, she sat back on the bench, thinking that even if Kuroro was telling the truth, hearing the person you hated the most say _'I love you'_ all of a sudden would be difficult to comprehend in just the span of a day.

…**To be continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **Major changes, I know. I just had to. And forgive me if I overdid the length of it: my fingers just won't stop and I had to get Shalnark in place. I have totally enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you enjoyed reading it, too. I noticed that the romance between the two had been in a very slow pace in the original version, so I just had to speed things up. I have a couple more fluffs in line and a good idea on how to end this one already, so stay tuned. Keep those reviews coming! :)


	5. Some things to think about

**A/N:** I'm on a major "update spree" and this story was second. Phew… Care to read before you all kill me for making you wait so long? ;D

* * *

**Chapter Five: Some things to think about**

The delectable smell of fresh native chicken boiling neatly under low heat and the steady rhythm of a knife hitting a chopping board filled the small living space. Kurapika worked quietly as she sliced carrots into strips and diced some potatoes.

"It actually smells good!" Neon chirped from her place near the stove, as it was her task to watch over the chicken while it boiled. Kurapika had told her that boiling the chicken was the easiest part in making curry if done properly. If not, the chicken would either be undercooked or overcooked and the whole recipe would fail. That was why she was intently standing guard over it, as if the lifeless poultry would suddenly get up and run away – never mind that it did not have its head and those two little feet.

Kurapika chuckled at her. "I'm not surprised. These are high quality ingredients that your attendants brought. I can't even find potatoes this fresh at the market." The blonde said as she continued chopping the vegetables.

It was that day of the month. Since the five of them became friends, they would pick one day of the month and just hang out. It could either be a trip to the movies or the amusement park, or just a simple sleepover like that of the present. Last month was also a sleepover at Neon's house, though that was anything but simple. This month, it was at Kurapika's.

"_Ne_, Kurapika…"

Kurapika blinked and looked over at the dining table, where Gon, Killua and Leorio were busy making a Chocolate Crusted Mustard Cake. Or at least, that was what they were supposed to be doing.

Killua was the one who spoke. He was supposed to be blending the cake mixture manually since the recipe advised them against using a mechanical blender. But apparently, he was doing a rather nasty job at it.

"Killua, you're supposed to mix it thoroughly or else the mixture won't bake nicely. And you can't do that if you just slump on the table and flick your wrist."

"But my arm's dead already! Why am I doing this anyway?" Killua whined.

Kurapika cocked a brow at him. Only ten minutes had passed since Killua started his task. "That's because you're the one who wanted to eat cake. You were also arrogant enough to say earlier that baking one was but a piece of cake." She said pointedly.

"I just want to eat one, not bake one." The white-haired boy pouted. "This is Gon's fault. He should be the one doing this, not me." He was pertaining to when Gon suggested making a cake instead of just buying one. The shorter boy stuck his tongue out at him and proceeded to crush another chocolate bar.

"Don't be so lazy, Killua." Gon scowled at him. "If you want something, you have to work for it."

"What do you mean work for it? Neon could just tell her butler to order one of the best cakes in town like she did before. Why can't we just do that?"

"You're being all whiny, Killua. Besides," Gon handed over the plate of crushed chocolate to Leorio who put it all into the mechanical blender to turn it into chocolate goo, "that's just no fun!"

"Fun?" Killua snapped, banging the mixing bowl onto the table. "This isn't fun! And why the hell can you use that blender while I can't? That's just not fair!" He pointed a finger accusingly at the poor appliance.

"That's obviously because you can't, stupid. Can't you understand something as simple as that?" Leorio said as he transferred the chocolate paste into another bowl.

"Who're you calling stupid, you old geezer?"

"Who're you calling old? I'm still in senior high like you are!"

"Really? Because you don't look the part." Killua blinked his eyes feigning innocence.

"That's it!"

Kurapika and Neon merely laughed at the scene in front of them. Gon took his place between the other two, trying to break them apart. Leorio was utterly fuming as Killua had the gall to throw a handful of the cake mixture at his face. He had tried to throw the bowl of chocolate paste at Killua, but Gon stopped him. The poor boy was barely keeping the other two from clawing at each other's necks. Neon, too, was shouting at them from her place beside the chicken (she obviously had no plans of letting it out of her sight). Kurapika, on the other hand, had gone back to dicing what was left of the potatoes, laughing softly to herself.

Really, after the events earlier that day, Kurapika needed the amusement. She still felt disturbed about what happened earlier. Her conversation with Shalnark only aggravated the situation, even though she knew the lad had absolutely nothing to do with her dilemma.

_I've known him for so long to know that he is not a liar._

Then what was she to do? Simply believe what Kuroro had told her, despite the fact that it absolutely made no sense and that she deeply loathed the senior?

"Oh, would you two stop it!" Neon shouted exasperatedly at the two guys. "Why can't you two just _kiss and make up_!"

There was a loud clang when Kurapika accidentally lost her grip on the knife and it dropped to the floor. The other four turned to stare at her, only to find the blonde holding a bleeding finger to her face.

"Ah! Kurapika, what were you doing?" Neon finally left her spot and grabbed Kurapika's hand, staring wide-eyed at the bleeding wound.

"I-I lost my grip," the blonde chuckled nervously and pulled her finger away. "Just… just lost my grip; nothing to worry about." She smiled albeit falsely and walked to the sink to put her finger under the faucet. She kept her back to the others, trying to hide her already flushed face away from them.

What in the world was she thinking? She knew exactly what Neon meant, but the words had a different effect on her. She could not stop herself from thinking about how Kuroro approached her that morning, how he stood so close to her and said he was worried, and how it looked as if he wanted to…

_Stop it! Stop thinking about him! _Kurapika mentally scolded herself. _You hate him the most, really hate him! So stop thinking!_ Then why the hell couldn't she? And why was she getting second thoughts on whether she really hated Kuroro? She did, didn't she?

Behind her, the other four were looking at each other, both bewilderment and recognition evident in their faces.

* * *

"…I see. In any case, I appreciate what you did, Shalnark."

"No need to, Danchou," was Shalnark's reply from the other end of the line. He had just called to report of what had transpired during his conversation with Kurapika – leaving out the _unnecessary_ _details_, of course. "Although," the lad muttered quietly and Kuroro could notice a sense of caution in his voice.

"What is it?" The raven-haired lad asked when Shalnark fell silent.

There was the sound of shuffling from the other line before Shalnark spoke. "Well, I was just curious, Danchou. I only have a hunch on what you said to Kurapika but…" There was a sigh and the lad continued, "You're not pulling her leg, aren't you?

Kuroro knew that he was supposed to have felt offended by the question but for some reason, he wasn't. He knew that Shalnark asked him out of sheer curiosity and not because the other suspected him falsely. Though it took him a moment to reply and during that time Shalnark was already apologizing. "What are you apologizing for?" He asked.

"W-Well, I thought I have offended you."

"You haven't."

"Oh. Well, anyway… From how she had reacted, maybe Kurapika was thinking that you were lying to her. And, well, there's still the issue of your bet with Feitan… But I told her that from what I know of you, you certainly weren't lying to her. And I was right, wasn't I?

Kuroro fell silent. He had had this same conversation with Nostrad earlier that day (with the exception of the bet, of course) and he had felt somewhat uncomfortable on how easily the girl could read his emotions towards Kurapika. It was not as if Kuroro had known his feelings for the blonde for a long time already; he had only just realized it that same morning. But no matter how sudden it was, he was certain it was not a lie.

And of course, he still had that bet to win; he was not about to lose in something so simple.

"I'm not." It was with a smile that Kuroro replied. He heard Shalnark chuckle.

"You sound so sure, Danchou. But I knew that all along, I guess." The lad said. It was with another chuckle that he bid Kuroro goodbye before hanging up.

Kuroro was replacing the phone on the receiver when the front door opened and a woman entered the house. "You're early today, Kuo," he said as he approached the woman and took the huge bag of groceries from her.

"Traffic was surprisingly light," the woman replied. "And it's_ Kuo-nee_, Kuro-chan. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Kuo said as she reached out to ruffle the lad's dark hair playfully. But Kuroro simply ducked under her outstretched arm, and with a smirk, carried the grocery back to kitchen. "_Mou_… You're no fun, Kuro-chan! And why is there a bruise on your cheek?" She whined but Kuroro did not answer her. So instead she took her shoes off and followed after Kuroro.

Unluckily for Kuroro, Kuo had what psychologists would call a "brother complex". Their parents had died in an accident when Kuroro was only in daycare and Kuo was in middle school. They were taken in by one of their relatives, but they moved out once Kuo graduated from the university. Naturally, Kuo thought that it was her sole responsibility to take care of her "baby brother" – add to that the fact that their ages were at least ten years apart – and had indeed proved her point. She was his sole guarantor: it was with her own salary that she paid the whole of Kuroro's tuition fees, took care of all matters regarding the house, and supported the both of them. It was fortunate that she found a steady, good-paying job as an accountant in one of the government's firms. Before, Kuo had to work three tedious jobs to earn enough money, and even though Kuroro never admitted it verbally, he hated it when his sister came home awfully exhausted.

Of course, their relatives sent them money before, but Kuo would just send it all back so that they eventually stopped. Kuroro had argued with her about the matter, telling her that she did not have to exhaust herself just to support him if others were willing to help. But Kuo simply smiled and embraced him, saying that she was a very selfish person when it came to her brother and did not care about anything else as long as Kuroro was fine – the least that Kuroro could do to help her was to let her do what she loved most. Kuroro never argued with her ever since.

Still, Kuo's brother complex was quite severe that it even came to the point that she cut her long hair short so that it matched Kuroro's, with the absurd excuse that she wanted them to look alike. And indeed, she was the spitting female version of the young lad. She also had no plans of getting married, because for her marriage would only separate her from Kuroro, which was impossible. She would kill before that ever happened, and she almost did that one time when one of her suitors tried to force her into submission – it was all Kuroro could do to separate a positively enraged Kuo from the poor bastard who had gotten himself beaten to a pulp. Since then, no man who knew her dared to approach her anymore, and Kuo appeared to be more than happy with that.

"Kuro-chan!"

And yes, of course: the pet name.

"Yes?" Kuroro asked, looking over his shoulder at the beaming face of his sister, who had come to hug him from behind. The gesture was not embarrassing for Kuroro since he was very used to it already. But it did not help the fact that Kuo was shorter than him (despite being older) and that she was practically hanging on to him, her feet not touching the ground – which meant that she was choking Kuroro, albeit unintentionally.

"They're having a grill next door," said Kuo, still oblivious to Kuroro's condition, "and they said they'd be giving us some." Just then the doorbell rang and, with a jerk, Kuo released Kuroro and air was finally able to enter his lungs. "That must be them!" Kuo chirped. "Say, Kuro-chan… would you mind getting the door for me so I can prepare dinner already?" She said while pushing Kuroro out of the kitchen.

"Do I even have a choice?" Kuroro answered. Kuo thanked him and went to fix her groceries. With a sigh, Kuroro left the kitchen and headed to the front door. The doorbell had rung for the third time when he reached it.

He was greeted by a grinning boy holding a plate of _yakitori_. The boy wore a green shirt under an oversized jumper, had short blonde hair and striking blue eyes filled with mirth. He must be very happy for being able to do his task, or maybe he was simply a jolly little kid. "Here you go, _onii-chan_! It's really good!" The boy said, thrusting the plate of food at Kuroro. "Mom said you can return the plate whenever you want. See 'ya!" He turned to leave but Kuroro called him back.

As the boy turned back to him with huge eyes, Kuroro could not help but chuckle. Funny, he thought. It seemed as if life enjoyed toying with him from time to time.

"What is it, _onii-chan_? Is there something on my face?" The boy said, blinking his huge eyes at Kuroro. With a shake of his head, Kuroro laughed again and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Not really. You just remind me of someone." The boy grinned widely at him before running back to their house. Kuroro, too, went back inside.

Kuo turned as Kuroro entered the kitchen, and was quite curious to find him smiling. "_Ara_? Is my Kuro-chan smiling?" To her amazement, Kuroro turned to her only to smile wider, which was very uncommon for him. And Kuo knew that there was a special meaning behind the gesture. "Eh… did something happen to my Kuro-chan today? And you haven't told me why you have that ugly bruise there yet." She approached the lad and linked an arm with his, her lips curved into a cute pout.

Kuroro placed the plate of _yakitori_ on the table and ran his free hand through his hair. He shrugged and said, "Let's just say that I had a really _weird_ day today. And this bruise is but one proof of it."

* * *

"Move over, Killua! You're hogging my space!" Gon whined as he pushed the white-haired boy away from his _futon_. They had just finished eating dinner and were already setting up their _futons_ at Kurapika's living room.

"Not my fault! This old geezer here is hogging _my _space." Leorio shot a heated glare at Killua's direction. "Why am I sleeping beside him anyway?" Killua whined. He was obviously not in a good mood since he was not able to eat enough food as he wanted. The curry was delicious, of course, and it was more than enough for the five of them. But the cake was smaller than how it was supposed to be since almost half of the mixture went to Leorio's face during their little squabble earlier. What was worse, Neon did not agree to call for a delivery, saying that it was Killua's punishment for ruining the recipe and making a big mess.

"Oh, quit it, Killua." Neon snapped at him. She was sorting out a stack of VCDs on her frilly, pink _futon_, trying to decide on what movie they were going to watch. Kurapika, on the other hand, was at the kitchen fixing their late night snacks.

"Tch," was Killua's retort as he nonetheless approached the girl. "I want to watch something scary," he said as he, too, sorted through the CDs.

"No, we're not watching a scary movie tonight."

"And why not?"

"Because I hate them." Neon replied flatly. She ignored the throbbing vein on Killua's temple as she found the title she had been looking for. "We're watching this instead!" She literally shoved the CD case in Killua's face, grinning broadly like a little girl.

Killua blinked and snatched the CD from her, reading the title and snorting incredulously at it. "_Romance?_" Killua wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You have got to be kidding me. I am_ not_ watching something like that." He snorted and shoved the CD back at Neon.

"We're not watching this for you, stupid!" Neon playfully hit the boy's head with the CD case. She kept her voice low as Kurapika entered the room and said, "We're watching this movie for _you-know-what_." She sent a fleeting glance at Kurapika's direction.

Realization hit Killua as he blinked rather foolishly at Neon. How could he have forgotten? They had formed a deal with Kuroro earlier that day: they would help the senior with his problem with Kurapika, while it was Kuroro's task to simply keep said deal a secret from anyone, especially from the blonde. Lest they wanted all hell to break loose on them.

His mouth formed into an O-shape before he regained his usual demeanor. "Tch," Killua huffed as he stood and grabbed the huge bowl of popcorn from Kurapika, to the blonde's surprise. "I still don't like it so I'm having all the popcorn to myself instead." He grinned selfishly.

"What? Don't be so selfish, Killua! Put that down!" Gon shouted at him and earned a raspberry instead.

"Make me!"

At that, Gon launched himself at the taller boy and a second later, the bowl had dropped to the floor with a loud crash and the popcorn fell all over the place.

"Gon! Killua!" Kurapika shouted rather loudly and the two boys fell still. "Quit acting like children!" The blond snapped, clearly annoyed.

Gon and Killua just gaped at her, their mouths hanging open like that of a fish. Neon and Leorio were also staring at Kurapika, shock written on their faces. After a moment, Kurapika seemed to have realized how she had acted and blushed uncontrollably. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to get angry." The blonde said as she brought a hand to her face. "I'm really sorry…"

The others blinked at her and it was Gon who spoke first. "Are you all right, Kurapika?"

The blonde looked up at him, her face still apparently red, and nodded meekly. "I'm fine, Gon. Just – I was just thinking too much, I guess." The other four stared at each other. "But I'm all right! Really! I guess we'd have to clean this mess up again, _ne_?" She bent to pick up the bowl but Neon beat her to it.

"That's all right, Kurapika!" She spoke rather nervously. "We'll clean this up! You just sit down and let us take care of it. Right, Killua? Gon?" It took a moment before the two boys snapped out of their bewilderment and gave frantic little nods.

"R-Right! It's my fault anyway, clearly my fault," Killua laughed nervously as he rushed to pick up bits of popcorn with Neon.

"Yeah! You just relax, Kurapika." Gon said as he grabbed the blonde's hand and led her to the couch. "I'll go take care of the other snacks."

"I'll help," Leorio said, already moving towards the kitchen.

Kurapika blinked at them, a faint blush still apparent on her cheeks. She clearly felt mortified at how she had acted. "Sure, Gon. And I'm really sorry." The boy shook his head vehemently at her and reasoned that it was them who should be sorry. Then he went off after Leorio and Kurapika dropped herself on the couch.

_This is really embarrassing, _she thought as she hid her face between her hands. She failed to notice the looks Neon and Killua were giving her, apparently concerned and baffled at her actions.

Kurapika had been acting mighty peculiar since the time she accidentally cut herself with the knife. During dinner, she had kept silent and only talked when she was supposed to. She had been spacing out quite often as well – it was obvious that she was bothered greatly by something.

"Kurapika?" Neon called to her cautiously. When she deemed it safe to approach the blonde, she gave the bowl of popcorn to Killua with a nod and went to sit beside her. Killua exited the room as well, having understood Neon's intention.

The blonde shifted as she felt Neon sit on the space beside her, but she still felt very embarrassed to face her yet. It was true that she felt troubled and quite agitated, but she knew that it was no excuse to vent her anxiety on her friends like that. It was the worst thing she had done in a long time; even worse than when she had slapped Kuroro that morning.

Neon called her name for the second time before Kurapika felt her arms around her. At that, she brought her hands away from her face and looked up to find Neon simply beaming at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Neon shook her head and pulled her closer.

"There's no need to apologize. We understand you perfectly. It's obvious you didn't mean to act that way."

Kurapika rested her head on Neon's chest as the other stroked her hair comfortingly. "I'm just confused. A lot of things had happened so suddenly I don't know what to think of it anymore." She sighed.

Unknown to her, Neon was trying her best not to laugh; she settled for a soft giggle instead. She knew exactly what Kurapika was pertaining to, but she could not just tell the blonde that. No, not yet. So she simply kept her thoughts to herself despite the happiness that was bubbling inside of her at how the events were turning out, and she knew she would have to talk to Kuroro as soon as possible. For now, she just held Kurapika tightly and listened to her complains, even though she knew that the blonde would not admit that she was thinking about Kuroro.

And it was true. Kurapika was indeed – no matter how much she detested it – thinking about Kuroro. And it was literally making her crazy. She clung tighter to Neon as she complained about how confused she was, trying hard to prevent herself from crying. No, she was not about to cry for something as painfully silly as this. And she certainly was not going to cry because of Kuroro, regardless of the fact that the infuriating senior was the exact cause of her dilemma.

So she simply held on to Neon, letting the other comfort her that way only she can. As absurd as it seemed, Kurapika also thought of Neon like a mother, especially during moments like this. It was foolish, all right, given Neon's personality, but it helped. Whoever said that living alone without your parents was simple? It was not a laughing matter when you feel like your heart was being split into two and you do not even have a mother to tell your secrets to. No. It certainly was not.

Unknown to Kurapika, she was not the only one having the same dilemma. For while Kuroro had his sister, he could not simply confess to Kuo that he liked someone. It simply was not the way it was done.

So as he lay on his bed, waiting for sleep to come, Kuroro kept his thoughts to himself, thinking that maybe – just maybe – things will decide to work out.

**... To be continued...

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**A/N**: Yay! :)

Haha. I guess it's safe to say that this chapter isn't all that different, except those few scenes I had added. Oh all right, they weren't few. But still! I really liked how this turned out and I hope you did, too. Although it _is_ quite long – if I say so myself. :) Haha. I'm feeling a bit giddy since, miraculously, I've managed to finish two updates already! ;D Check out my other stories and you'll be quite surprised.

So, thanks to those who have either reviewed or put this story on alert/favorites. Really! And I hope more would come for this chapter. I'm getting my hopes up. ;D Toodles!


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